Paul Joyce: Soft underbelly to this Liverpool squad
Liverpool’s Collapse at the Etihad Highlights Deeper FragilityFundamentals Abandoned Under PressureCredit to The Times and Paul Joyce for a forensic breakdown of Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat to Manchest...
Paul Joyce: Soft underbelly to this Liverpool squad Liverpool’s Collapse at the Etihad Highlights Deeper Fragility Fundamentals Abandoned Under Pressure Credit to The Times and Paul Joyce for a forensic breakdown of Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester City , a performance he describes as a “complete and utter abdication of responsibility. ” That verdict feels difficult to dispute. Joyce pinpoints a moment before half-time that encapsulates the chaos.
Liverpool had “a numerical advantage: six versus four,” yet still allowed the situation to unravel. As he notes, “As Arne Slot looked on, he would have thought to just see the moment out. ” Instead, City cut through them with alarming ease.
This was not tactical nuance, it was the absence of basic game management. Witless Surrender and Repeated Failings The second half brought no correction. Another throw-in, another lapse, another goal.
Joyce captures the broader issue with brutal clarity: “both owed everything to a complete and utter abdication of responsibility. ” From there, the collapse accelerated. “Once Haaland had completed his hat-trick, Liverpool’s defenders again at sixes and sevens,” he writes, before delivering the most damning line: “For a team whose season is supposedly on the line, this was a witless surrender.